While it is generally recommended that you have life insurance coverage equal to ten times your annual salary, several factors should be considered when you are the amount of life insurance you need.
Before you make this important decision, we recommend that you choose your type of life insurance and be familiar with how life insurance works.
To choose the right amount for your life insurance:
Think about your current and future needs
Ask yourself: How will my life insurance amount be used and who will need it? This question that will allow you to estimate the amount of your insurance coverage.
Things to consider when determining your life insurance needs:
- Your annual income
- Your net worth
- Your debts
- Your existing life insurance
To help you, inventory your debts, the amount needed to replace your salary, and any other items you might want to factor into your insurance, such as your children’s education fund, an amount for your funeral expenses, taxes on death for illiquid assets, etc.
Assess the monthly premium
First, assess the budget you can allocate to this type of insurance. Then choose the premium to be paid. Be aware that if you choose a large amount, your insurance premium will be high. The same applies to the duration of the contract. The longer you’re insured, the higher the price. Think about it. If you stop paying the premium or if your situation no longer allows you to do so, you will no longer be insured after your grace period, which is generally 30 days.
The monthly price can vary significantly. There are many things that insurers take into account when you apply for insurance, but your age is an important factor. Since you are less likely to die at a young age, insurance is less expensive for young people. So getting insurance early in your career is beneficial.
Most types of insurance take into account your age, tobacco use and lifestyle. When comparing life insurance prices (which you can do on the Matcha Insurance website), you will see large differences in premiums according to the age, gender and smoking status you choose.
Let’s explore a few cases to compare prices. Suppose six different people want to buy $250,000 life insurance for 10 years. They go to the Matcha Insurance premium comparator and enter their date of birth, their gender, and their smoking status as well as the amount of insurance they want. What they see as the average premium is:
| Monthly premium Non-smoker |
Monthly premium Smoker |
||
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-year term life insurance with $250,000 face value |
Woman, 25 years old | $11 | $16 |
| Man, 25 years old | $14 | $25 | |
| Woman, 50 years old | $32 | $76 | |
| Man, 50 years old | $43 | $126 | |
| Woman, 75 years old | $152 | $283 | |
| Man, 75 years old | $220 | $530 | |
As you can see, the same insurance will cost nearly three times as much for a 50-year old woman as for a 25-year-old woman. Furthermore, smoking status can almost double a person’s premium, regardless of age.
Still have questions about the life insurance offered by Matcha Insurance? Our financial security advisors are available to answer any questions you may have and to reassure you.
Contact us now
Consider your health and family history
Depending on the type of life insurance you want, you may be asked to do a medical exam or answer questions about your family history. The results will affect your insurance premium. That’s why you should always talk to an insurance expert at Matcha Insurance to obtain an evaluation of your profile and avoid a refusal.
If that’s your case, you could use simplified or guaranteed issue insurance. This means that you would not need to do a medical examination or complete a comprehensive questionnaire and you would be insured. ou can do all of this by answering a few questions from one of our advisors. Life insurance included in a group insurance plan is also a good option to consider when assessing your coverage, as group characteristics—not personal characteristics—are considered when premiums are being set.
However, these types of simplified or guaranteed issue insurance may limit the amount of insurance you can choose. Evaluating your profile will help you understand why the premium can also be higher than insurance for the same amount that would require a medical examination.
The consulting service is a tool at your disposal
You can compare life insurance prices at any time on our premium comparison tool. We also invite you to contact our team to review your situation.
Our expert advisors’ mission is finding the best coverage among over a dozen insurers in a matter of minutes. In addition, Matcha Insurance’s advisors stand out for the transparency and quality of their attentive service, provided through a client-focused and empathetic approach. No matter what type of life insurance you want, our team members will direct you to a competitive insurance solution that meets your needs, which are just as real and unique as you.
